We highlighted a Wall Street Journal report that the US Securities & Exchange Commission is in the early stages of an investigation into banks and private equity firms relating to dealings with Sovereign Wealth Funds reportedly for violations of the US Foreign & Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”).

We noted: “What starts in the US has a habit of crossing the Atlantic. Will the US investigation create a ripple in the Private Equity capital of London, Mayfair?”

The US DOJ first hinted at interest in the sector over two years ago when Chief of the Fraud Section, Steve Tyrrell, in DOJ’s Criminal Division, said the “recent boom of sovereign wealth funds is an area at the top of the Justice Department’s hit list” and noted that the credit crunch could result in more corruption cases.

[...] in thebriberyact.com, in a post entitled “BREAKING: We forecast it in March – SFO confirms involved in US sovereign wealth fund probe” our colleagues Richard Vitou and Richard Kovalevsky QC, discussed the announcement that the SFO [...]